Cooling system.



N. M. LA FORTE.

COOLING SYSTEM.

e APPLICATION FILED OCT. 4. 1915.

2 SHEETS-SHEET I.

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N. M. LA FORTE.

COOLING SYSTEM.

APPLICATION FILED on. 4. 1915.

' PatentedSept. 3,1918.

'2 SHEETSSHEET 2 Witneoolm nonimnr 11:. LA roam, or anemone, MARYLAND.

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.To all whom it may concern ii 7 Be it known that I, NoRBnR'r M. LA Pours,

' a citizen of the United States of America,

residing'in the city of Baltimore, State of- Maryland, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Cooling Systems, of

which the following is a specification.

The difficulties incident to cooling the internal combustion motors used in drivlng road vehicles are well-known to most operators of motor cars. The means provided for this purpose in a great majority of cases consists in the Well-known combination of water jacket, and air cooled radiator. Ordinarlly the draft on; the radiator 1s lncreased by means of a fan.

The circulation of the cooling water 1s aci complished by two different methods. These are, first a pump driven by suitable connections from the engine shaft, and second, the

. thermosiphonic" system, the operation of which is due tothe natural law of convection, that is, the hot water rises from the jacket to the top of the radiator and as .it is cooled, it passes downward through theradlatorl'and, as its gravity increases, it displaces the hot Weather in theljacket. In many instances, the pump and thermosiphonlc system are combined,but in no case is cooling in any way proportionate to the actual needs of the motor, that is, to the heatlngeffect. The fan, as we have stated, driven at a speed proportionate to the speed 'of the motor; the draft created by the mot1on .of

the car is of course proportionate to'the.

speed of the-motor; whenin gear, the speed of the circulating pump, 1f one 1s used, 1s directly proportionate to the speed of the 1110- tor; and the thermosiphonic circulation is proportionate tothe dlfi'erence 1n temperature betweenthe Water jacket and the radiator whichyis determined by two promlnent factors, the speed of the fan and the temperasity for cooling than in cold weather, the re- 'sult of this is a tendency to increase the cooling efle'ct when. the least coolingis necessary,

and decrease it when there is the greatest necessity for cooling. It 1s a well-known The speed of the.

Specification of Letters Patent. vi Patented Sept, 3 1918. Application filed October 4, 1915. Serial No. 54,035.

in any way directly proportionate to the.

revolutions of the crank shaft; on the con- }trary, when the car is pulling hard on open' throttle and the richest mixture 'is being burned, though the speed is not necessarily high, the greatest temperature is developed,

- and whilev the greatest cooling effect is necessary, the cooling effect actually provided, is

the temperature ofgreatest efficiency-,- and.

atother times, as in hill climbing, when the greatest cooling. is necessary, the car 'becomes heated and the most efficient-operation is only attained occasionally at intermediate speeds, when conditions of the atmosphere and the like happen to be most favorable.

The object of my invention is to provide cooling means for the motor Wholly or partially proportionate to the heating efi'ect This is accomplished in the present instance by meansof the exhaust which is utilized as a motor power for driving the fan. As the exhaust pressure is proportionate to the fuel consumption and therefore to the heat generated, any element driven by the ex-' haust pressure, other things being equal, is driven at a speedbearing a direct relation to the heat generated. .But there is an exception to this rule. At low throttle, the exhaust pressurebecomes very slight and under these circumstances, little, if any power,

can be derived from this source sothat with some types ofmotors, articularly in hot climates, it is found a visableto provide means effective when the exhaust pressure drops, or at other times to take up the fan and drive it'at a speed sufficient to give the amount of cooling necessary under low throttle conditions. In cold climates, with a motor which does not develop excessive heat, or where the radiator surface is sufficiently large, no such provision is necessary.

In the present instance, the fan is normally driven by a velocity turbine in the exhaust pipe. There is also a pulley on the fan shaft driven by a. belt or other suitable connection from the crank shaft of the engine, and this pulley is connected to the fan shaft by a clutch so arranged that when the shaft tends to rotate faster than the speed at which the pulley driven, the two arts, the shaft and the drrven pulley, are free to move relatively, each in response to the independent impulses imparted to it,

but if the fan speed drops because of the reduction in the volume, pressi'ire itIld-VOlOCItY' of the exhaust incident to the closing of the throttle valve, so that the shaft turns more slowly than doesthe driven pulley, the parts become connected and the fan is picked up and driven through the pulley from the engine shaft. For conwrnienee in providing motor power for driving the fan from the exhaust, the exhaust pipe may be carried forward from the manifold downward past the fan shaft where the turbine is located, and then backward to the manifold.

Another feature of the invention resides in the arrangement of the hood space, the area directly in the rear of the radiator being separated by a vertical transverse partition from the engine space proper so that the latter is protected from the dust ordinarily thrown backward by the fan. \Vith the construction now referred to, instead of the usual fan, I prefer to use a fan of the centrifugal type, whereby the air drawn in through the radiator is thrown out radially and escapes through an opening leading ownward between the radiator and the engine so that the engine itself is completely protected from the dust and grit of the road.

In the accompanying drawings, I have illustrated so much of an engine, radiator and hood of an automobile equipped with my device, as is necessary to a complete understanding of the invention.

Figure 1 is a sectional elevation showing theengine, fan and radiator;

Fig. 2 is a detail view showing the exhaust actuated means for driving the fan;

Fig. 3 shows the fan in elevation looking in the direction of the axis; and

Fig. 4 is a transverse section on the line 4, 4 of Fig. 1, showing the fan belt and pulleys with a clutch for picking up the fan when the speed of the engine shaft increasesbeyond a certain predetermined ratio with the speed of the fan shaft.

Referring to the drawings by numerals, each of which is used to indicate the same or similar parts in the different figures; there is an engine 1, radiator 2 and fan 3, the latter being preferably of the centrifugal type, illustrated particularly in Fig. 3, having blades 4 in a plane parallel to the axis and inclined outward and backward with reference to the direction of revolution. I

In the rear of the fan, in the preferred form of the invention, there is a transverse partition 5 to protect the engine from the dust and grit drawn in by the fan and beneath the fan there is an opening (3 for the exit of the draft. When the centrifugal fan is used, I preferably provide an opening Win the partition 5 through which the air is exhaustedfrom the hood and in order that this may be utilized as a means for ventilating the body of the vehicle in addition to the cooling of the motor, I prcvide an opening (5 in the foot-board (5. I

In'the operation of this device, the crutrifugal action of the fan creates a vacuum at the center which draws the air in through the radiator and thus through the opening (3 from the hood, and the air thusentering is in turn thrown up to the periphery and escapes through the opening (3.

Referring now to the means for driving the fan, as I have explained, the principal object of the invention is to provide means for cooling the motor, the cooling effect being substantially proportionate to the heat generated. To this end, the exhaust is utilized as a motor power for driving the fan, for the volume, velocity and pressure of the exhaust are proportionate to the fuel consumption and hence, to the heat. generated. Any desired pro mrtion of the exhaust gases can be utilized for this purpose but in the installation which, I have shown, I have brought the main exhaust pipe forward and provided a velocity turbine on the fan shaft which is actuated by the exhaust. The exhaust. manifold is shown at 7, the outlet end 8 being forward instead of to the rear, as is usual. ()n the fan shaft, .1 have placed a. ti-u'b'ine 5) preferably having radial veins which in one portion of their path are in line with the path of the exhaust gases. To this end, the exhaust pipe is introduced into the turbine casing it at 12 and led from/the casing at 13 at a point directly opposite and in alinement with the inlet 12. Thus, the exhaust gasesln passing through the turbine casing come directly in contact with the blades 14 of the turbine and impart to the. turbine blades 14 substantially the velocity of the exhaust. llowever, the blades 14 are comparatively small and the clearance. excessive so that in no instance is the exhaust actually inipedtal and the back pressure increased.

In the majority of instances, as pointed out in the preamble, the impulse derived from the exhaust is sufficient to drive the fan at a speed proportionate to the volume of the exhaust and the heat generated. llowever, in very hot climates or where there is insufficient radiator surface, additional means for driving the fan when the exhaust impulses are reduced, may be found necessary. To this end, I'provide the usual fan belt 16, shown in Fig. 4, driven from a pulley 17 on the-crank or cam shaft 18, as may be found most convenient. This belt takes over a pulley ' clutch being designed to become operative tionate to the velocity,

' parted to it by if the pulley 19 tends to run ahead of the fanshaft, that is to turn a greater number of revolutions per unit of time. To this end, in the present instance, I have provided a seat 23 in the clutch member 20. This seat consists of a pocket 22 which is at the forward endof the seat in the direction of'revolution, indicated by the arrow, and in the rear, there is a surface which is gradually inclined backward and toward the center. There is a ball 24 which occupies the seat 23 and this ball rolls on the cylindrical surface 26 on the clutch member 21. When the fan shaft with the clutch member 21 is turning at a higher rate of speed than is the pulley, there is no cramping of the parts, but as soon as the pulley forges ahead, the inclined surface 25 cramps the ball against the cylindrical surface 26 and the parts are locked together so that the fan is picked up by the pulley and turned at a speed exceeding that imthe turbine.

The operation is clearly apparent from the preamble taken in connection with the description and drawing. The exhaust gases drive the turbine at a speed proporvolume and pressure of the exhaust which is. in turn proportionate to the fuel consumption and the heat generated. Thus the draft set up by the fan through the radiator is in turn proportionate to the heat generated, at least so long as the exhaust is considerable in volume. The exhaust may be used as the sole means for driving the fan and will be found satisfactory in moderate or cold climates and where a comparatively large radiator surface is provided. However, the velocity and pressure of the exhaust are greatly reduced at low throttle and in order to continue the revolution ofthe fan, and

- 1 set up an appreciable cooling draft at very low throttle, I may provide the belt driven mechanism described which picks up the fan when the revolution of the fan pulley exceeds the revolutions of the fan shaft, and di ives the fan at the low throttle positions of the motor. This is only driving the fan at low speeds and may be disconnected in coldweather or when, for

any reason, it is found unnecessary.

I have thus described my invention specificallyand in 'detail in'order that its nature and operation may be fully under stood; however, the

- 1ng trifugal fan in front of the engine, means an expedient for.

' this 24th day specific terms herein areused in their descriptive rather than in their means to the fan shaft for picking up the fan and drivingit when the fan speed drops below a predetermined minimum.

2. In an internal combustion motor for driving road vehicles, a cylinder with a jacket, a radiator, a fan, an QXhRU Stpasa turbine driven by the exhaust gases and connected to the fan to the drive the same, and means for driving the fan from the engine shaft, including means connecting the latter driving means to the fan shaft whenthe fan speed drops below a certain predetermined minimum, the fan speed being otherwise determined by the pressure, velocity and volume of the exhaust communicated through the turbine. I

3. In combination in an internal combustion engine for driving road vehicles, hava water jacket, a radiator, and a censage,

inclosing the periphery of the fan leaving an opening through which the air drawn in through the radiator escapes without coming in contact with the motor and means for leading air from the engine space to the central portion of the fan.

4. In combination in an internal combustion engine for driving road vehicles, having a water'jacket, a radiator, a centrifugal fan, a partition in the rear of the fan and in front of the engine, separating the'fan from-the hood space and having a small opening leading into the hood space to exhaust the air from the hood creating a draft which acts as a cooling agency on the engine casting. v

5. In combination with an internal combustion engine for propelling road vehicles,

a water jacket, a radiator, and a fan in front of the engine and in the rear of the radiator drawing air through the radiator,

a transverse partition in the rear of the fan for protecting the engine from the current of air drawn through the radiator, and a passage adjacent the center of the fan leading to the engine space whereby air is drawn by the fan from the surface of the engine.

Signed by me at Baltimore, Maryland,

of September, 1915. NORBERT M. LA PORTE.

Witnesses: H. G. Evrrr, ALICE Gr. DONEGAN. 

